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Constructions of ‘Europe’, identity and citizenship in post-primary social studies curricula in the Republic of Ireland Daniel Faas and Laura O’Connor Introduction This chapter focuses on constructions of Europe in social studies curricula at the secondary level of education in Republic of Ireland (hereafter Ireland). By examining the current curricula of social studies subjects taught during the junior and senior cycle of secondary education in Ireland, the way in which ‘Europe’ is presented to the 12-18 age group in Ireland can be analysed. The seven subjects chosen for this study are Geography, History, Religious Education (RE), as well as ‘Civic, Social and Political Education’ (CSPE) and ‘Politics and Society’1, ‘Social, Personal, Health Education’ (SPHE) and Economics at the junior and senior cycle respectively. The study of curricula enables us to explore how the European dimension of identity and citizenship is incorporated into state-produced documents (Keating 2009) that are subsequently disseminated through the national education network. This chapter aims to capture the representations of ‘Europe’ in social studies curricula in Ireland in order to analyse how the European dimension of identity and citizenship has been incorporated into the content and structure of the sampled curricula. Secondly, any changes that may result from such ‘Europeanization’ of social studies curricula (Faas and Ross, forthcoming) will be assessed to facilitate a country-level generalisation that will in turn feed into further comparative analysis at the European level. In contemporary society, the perpetually problematic question of society membership (Benhabib 2004) remains salient as nation states attempt to engage with an increasingly diversified citizenry whilst hoping to sustain meaningful identity based on a singular notion of a homogenous ‘imagined community’ (Anderson 2006). Guibernau (2007) points to the classroom as the site for reconciling the identity needs of a diverse citizenry, given that the historical function of national education systems was the promotion of state-sponsored citizenship (Beck 2000). In Ireland, the challenge to establish an inclusive educational system in a country dominated by a WHISC (White, Heterosexual, Irish, Settled, Catholic) discourse The ‘Politics and Society’ subject at the Senior cycle has not yet been approved for teaching, although a draft syllabus (used in this study) was approved for consultation in 2008 (NCCA 2010). Given that this study focuses on the ‘official’ curricula content of social studies rather than ‘perceived, enacted or experienced curriculum’ (as defined by Goodlad 1977), the draft version was deemed suitable for inclusion in order to preserve the comparability of the Junior and Senior cycles and the contemporariness of the research. 1 1 (Tracy 2000) has dominated academic and political debates about education. Although the introduction of the intercultural approach to education in Ireland in 1998, the same year as the Good Friday Peace agreement in Northern Ireland, aimed to create non-exclusive education (Smyth et al. 2009), the efficacy of this model is being tested by continued and new challenges such as the integration of the travelling community and Ireland being a net receiver of migrants (Drudy 2008). As Keating (2009) has noted, European education initiatives tend to be well-received in Ireland, but she observes that the European dimension in civic education in Ireland has been used as a vehicle for further politicisation of identity discourse that potentially creates new barriers between students by differentiating between ‘European’ and ‘non-European’ identity. This study aims to establish whether ‘Europe’ is used as a vehicle for exclusion in social studies curricula, or if there remains scope for ‘Europe’ to bridge identity gaps in the contemporary classroom (Fanning 2007). Setting the context Social studies curricula in Ireland have evolved with the rise of Ireland as a neutral, postcolonial state, where education played the traditional role of creating a plausible yet illusory idea of a nation (Gellner 1983), that became entrenched and revered with repeated ceremony and growing myths (Hobsbawm and Ranger 1983). As Keating’s (2009) analysis of a broad range of education documents relating to citizenship dating from 1922-2006 illustrates, the identity discourse internalised in Irish social education up until 1963, was Catholic, Gaelic and irredentist (i.e. a territorial claim to Northern Ireland). The 1960s marked a critical juncture at which social studies education in Ireland began to reflect the contextual changes of the period (Girvan 2002); formerly religious overtones were reduced and a European dimension was added to the identity discourse espoused by the newly introduced civic education syllabus (Keating 2009). In that sense, Europe has been a benchmark for the character of identity discourse in Irish education, but has not displaced the primacy of the ‘national’. The role of Europe in post-national citizenship curricula in Ireland has been complementary to existing discourses of identity and citizenship rather than instrumental (Keating 2009). This chapter aims to examine the impact of the Europeanization of social studies curricula in Ireland and to assess the implications for constructions of identity and citizenship in education. In Ireland, education is compulsory from ages 6-16, and so the junior cycle of secondary education that covers age 12-16 is the last stage of compulsory schooling. The senior cycle covers age 16-18 and is the voluntary stage of secondary education that includes 2 an optional ‘transition year’, where students follow a project-oriented vocational course for a year before embarking on the Leaving Certificate part of the senior cycle. According to Eurydice (2010), 2.64% of secondary level students receive their education through the Irish language, but follow the same curricula. Consequently only the English language version of curricula will be analysed for this study. The social studies subjects make up a relatively small part of total post-primary education in Ireland. For this study, seven subjects offered at the junior and senior cycle were chosen. Of these, only CSPE is compulsory during the junior cycle of secondary education. History, Geography, RE, SPHE (junior cycle) and Economics (senior cycle) are optional and are 4 of 26 subjects available during the junior cycle and of 33 subjects available during the senior cycle. However, the exact status of social studies in the Irish post-primary education system is difficult to ascertain because at both stages, students usually select only 7 subjects for examination, depending on interest and availability at their school. Thus, the social studies subjects have the same status as other non-compulsory subjects, such as the natural sciences and modern languages. The only compulsory subject from the sample, CSPE requires 70 hours of teaching over the three-year duration of the junior cycle (Department of Education and Science 1996). During the senior cycle, each social studies subject is taught for 180 hours over the two-year period of the Leaving Certificate programme if chosen. Nevertheless, high participation rates in non-compulsory social studies subjects at the junior level in the 2009-2010 school year (see Table 1) show that these subjects are important, especially during the junior cycle of post-primary education. Table 1: Subject ‘Take Up’ in secondary level education institutions aided by the Department of Education and Skills in 2009-2010 Cycle Subject Number of Students Participation rate (%) Junior Cycle CSPE 174,200 100% Junior Cycle Geography 163,029 94.4% Junior Cycle History 161,035 93.3% Junior Cycle RE 106,539 61.1% Junior Cycle SPHE 172,340 98.9% Senior Cycle Economics 8,882 8.6% Senior Cycle Geography 52,863 37.9% Senior Cycle History 24,664 17.7% Senior Cycle RE 88,416 63.4% Senior Cycle Politics and Society n/a n/a 3 However, a downward trend of student interest in social studies during the senior cycle of post-primary education is noticeable2. A new subject entitled ‘Politics and Society’ is set to be added to the senior cycle curriculum underscoring that the state values post-primary social studies education. This subject is voluntary and is a follow-up to the junior cycle CSPE; it will be examined at Leaving Certificate level, with an Active Citizenship Project accounting for 20 per cent of the final examination. Even though many schools are privately owned (by religious communities), the Department for Education and Skills is the main source of funding for secondary schools and thus sets a framework, including curricula and exams that are held at the end of each cycle (Eurydice 2010). Beyond content and assessment, schools have autonomy regarding teaching methods and choice of textbooks, unlike some other European countries such as Cyprus and Greece. Thus, the power of these curricular documents lies (as expected) in setting the official parameters within which the perceived, enacted and experienced curricula emerge (Goodlad 1977). Consequently, the study will focus on analysing the curricula in terms of their official function, as a representation of what the state considers to be an ‘ideal’ citizen (Engel and Hinderliter Ortloff 2009). Methodological considerations This study focused only on official syllabus documents that are published by the Department of Education and Skills (DES) and include the curricular aims of each subject. The sample includes the syllabus for each of the subjects included in the study at the junior and senior stage of post-primary education in Ireland. This sample covers four of the six social studies subjects at the junior level and all of the social studies subjects available at the senior level, which ensures comprehensive coverage of post-primary social studies curricula in Ireland. Given that textual documents reflect the organisation that produce them (Bryman 2008), the post-primary syllabi of social studies education in Ireland are a medium through which the Irish state produces and maintains the meaning of Irish citizenship and identity. With a view to analysing how the European dimension is incorporated into the state-sponsored discourse of identity and citizenship in social studies education, the syllabi will be considered primary documents as they are compiled periodically by the designated government-approved body 2 The lower level of participation in social studies subjects at the senior stage reflects the reduced subject choice of students in the Leaving Certificate programme. For the Leaving Certificate, students must study English, Irish and Maths, and can choose four or five additional subjects. In the interest of diversification, it is unlikely that students will choose all social studies subjects on offer. Choice may also be limited by the resources of the school. 4 (in Ireland this is the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment - NCCA) and thus represent the most contemporary documents available with regard to the government’s vision of an ‘ideal’ citizen. Table 2 (below) lists all of the documents included in this study, including the applicable age group, title, date of publication and agency responsible for the document. Table 2: Table of Syllabi documents analysed for the Republic of Ireland Age/Cycle Document Title Pages Author/Date 12-15/Junior Cycle 19 DES, 1996 12-15/Junior Cycle Junior Certificate ‘Civic, Social and Political Education’ Syllabus Junior Certificate ‘Geography’ Syllabus 29 DES, 2006 12-15/Junior Cycle Junior Certificate ‘History’ Syllabus 9 DES, 2006 12-15/Junior Cycle Junior Certificate ‘Religious Education’ Syllabus 48 DES, 1999 12-15/Junior Cycle 60 DES, 2000 15-18/Senior Cycle Junior Certificate ‘Social, Personal, Health Education Syllabus’ Leaving Certificate ‘Economics’ Syllabus 3 DES, 2000 15-18/Senior Cycle Leaving Certificate ‘Geography’ Syllabus 44 DES, 2006 15-18/Senior Cycle Leaving Certificate ‘History’ Syllabus 49 DES, 2003 15-18/Senior Cycle Leaving Certificate ‘Religious Education’ Syllabus 105 DES, 2002 15-18/Senior Cycle ‘Politics and Society’ Draft Syllabus for Consultation 48 NCCA, 2008 Total 10 Documents 414 The quantitative and qualitative analyses (c.f. Chapter 1) of these documents are presented in the next section. The quantitative analysis focuses on the content of the syllabi and gives a broad view of the frequency with which terms relating to ‘Europe’ are included in each of the social studies subjects. The qualitative analysis yields findings that point to the presence and intensity of each of the five possible representations of Europe. Finally, discourse analysis offers an insight into how the European dimension of citizenship and identity is constructed alongside the space traditionally reserved for national iterations of identity and citizenship. Projections of Europe across subjects: an overview Prior to presenting the analysis of each individual subject, the aggregate quantitative data for references to ‘Europe’ found in the sample of social studies curricula will be presented. Table 3 facilitates comparison between subjects and the overall propensity for some terms to appear more frequently than others in certain subjects. The findings from the quantitative analysis 5 will be discussed on a subject by subject basis, in addition to the qualitative and discourse analyses later in this chapter. Table 3: Overview of references to ‘Europe’ in the Social Studies Curricula Reference Geography History RE SPHE Economics Total Europe CSPE/Politics and Society 2 5 24 17 0 0 48 Eurasia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 EU (or EEC or EC) EU Institutions Council of Europe Council of Europe Institutions Symbolic Markers Europeans 8 11 3 0 0 0 22 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 European identity/ citizenship European (adjective to noun) European (individual countries) Other 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 28 28 11 3 1 0 71 0 17 71 7 0 0 95 0 2 0 5 0 0 7 Total 46 63 109 33 1 0 252 The quantitative analysis shows that History is the subject that contains the most references to Europe, followed by Geography, CSPE and Politics and Society, RE, SPHE and lastly Economics. Among the terms used, reference to Europe was most commonly channelled via the mention of another individual European country. The second most widely used term was the adjective ‘European’ with reference to another noun. The word ‘Europe’ and reference to the ‘EU, EEC or EC’ were also frequent, although the aggregate use of references to Europe across this sample of social studies curricula is minimal; 251 references in 351 pages. These findings are presented below in a subject-by-subject structure prior to an analysis of the most salient representations of Europe across the syllabi and a discussion about how European citizenship and identity are constructed in conjunction with the national version within the social studies curricula. 6 CSPE/Politics and Society The majority of references to ‘Europe’ in this subject of the post-primary social studies curriculum occur in the senior cycle, largely due to the length of this document, totalling 48 pages, with respect to the 19 pages of the junior cycle syllabus. Given the relative ‘newness’ of the higher level syllabus, the draft of which was approved in 2008, at time when European integration was more advanced than in 1996 when the CSPE syllabus was compiled, the higher number of references appears contextual. The stronger articulation of the European dimension in the political curriculum reflects a departure from the focus on Northern Ireland found in the CSPE curriculum that was introduced as a subject at the time of the Good Friday Peace agreement (McEvoy 2006). Over a decade later, ‘Europe’ appears as a more salient issue for the Politics curricula and is thus reflected by a higher number of references to ‘Europe’. For example, in the senior curriculum, references to the supranational institutions associated with Europe, such as the ‘EU’ and the ‘Council of Europe’ are concentrated in the introduction of the syllabus (NCCA 2008, 10-13) and are used to justify the special attention paid to the European context. The largest group of references to Europe in the senior cycle occur in the ambiguous use of ‘European’ as an adjective to noun. Most of these references occur under the rubric ‘students should be able to’ (NCCA 2008), where repeated reference is made to the ‘European’ context, in a list that begins with the local and proceeds in accordance with the relative distance of alternative entities. The ‘European’ context is habitually located between the ‘national’ and the ‘wider’ context, suggesting that the ‘European’ context is one of the options available for students. This reference appeared across all units within the draft syllabus for Politics and Society. Student familiarity with and ability to refer to the ‘European’ context is stated explicitly in the introduction of the syllabus as a mechanism by which a comparative element can be introduced by teachers into this subject (NCCA 2008, 16). In this sense, ‘Europe’ exists as a distinct entity in this syllabus, separate from the ‘national’ and ‘wider world’ context. This reflects the sporadic use of references to Europe in the junior cycle, where the ‘European level’ (DES 1996, 18) is introduced in the unit entitled ‘The State – Ireland’ as a means of comparison. Similarly, unit 4 ‘Ireland and the World’ of the junior syllabus refers to European institutions as examples of ‘Ireland’s membership of international groupings’ (ibid, 19), listing the EU first, followed by the Council of Europe and the UN. The consistent use of references to Europe as the intermediary between Ireland and the rest of the world indicates that ‘Europe’ is intended to serve as a comparative tool in this subject. 7 Geography Analysis of the Geography curriculum reveals the same trend found across other subject areas, whereby most of the references occur at the senior cycle level due to the increased length of the document. At the senior level, most of the references occur via use of the adjective ‘European’, although references to the ‘EU’ are also common. At the junior level, references to Europe appear most frequently when referring to other individual European countries, followed by use of the adjective ‘European’. The quantitative data indicates an apparent shift from introducing Europe through reference to other countries at the junior level to presenting Europe as an entire entity at the senior level. During the junior cycle, the syllabus is structured so that students learn about ‘key ideas’ that are contextualised with examples from ‘local, national and international’ settings (DES 2006a, 3). As expected, references to Europe appear under the ‘international’ rubric, usually indirectly through mention of another country in Europe. Among these references that are often compared with local and national examples, there is a no bias in favour of neighbouring European countries relative to more distant examples such as Italy or Sweden. The Geography syllabi tend to use Europe as a direct contrast to the national, rather than as a platform category between the national and international, seen in other subjects. For example, the senior cycle allows for ‘national and international examples’ (DES 2006c, 9), without explicit reference to Europe. Nevertheless, Europe does enjoy an elevated status as the senior syllabus contains a core unit entitled ‘Regional Geography’ that specifically requires students to study ‘two contrasting regions in Ireland and two European regions’. In this unit, students are allowed to choose the two European regions for study. The syllabus suggests Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and the Mediterranean as appropriate examples for study, although other regions may also be studied too. Furthermore, suggested examples listed under the ‘international settings’ rubric repeatedly refer to ‘European’ examples or highlight the case of a particular European country. In this way, Europe is much more present in the senior Geography syllabus. The higher proportion of references to the ‘EU’ in the senior cycle for Geography is also interesting as this dimension is not so evident in other syllabi. The relatively recurrent references to the ‘EU’ appear especially in one of the elective units of the senior geography syllabus, ‘Patterns and processes in economic activities’. Within this unit, references to Europe transcend their standard use as examples of the topic under study in ‘international settings’ and are included as a defined topic ‘Ireland and the European Union’ (DES 2006c, 26). As an elective unit, students and teachers are required to choose between this unit and 8 one other option (Patterns and processes in human activities), so although the noncompulsory status of the unit diminishes its status, the potential reach of this unit with strong references to Europe remains significant. The use of explicit references to the EU as a distinct topic in the senior cycle Geography syllabus is the only occasion in which the European Union featured in the social studies programme without serving as a generic example of a European-level social phenomenon, which distinguishes this syllabus within this study. History The History syllabi also showed a marked increase in the number of references at the senior stage of post-primary education that can partially be attributed to the differing lengths; 9 pages for the junior cycle and 49 pages for the senior level. In both syllabi, the highest number of references occurs in the category of naming other individual European countries, as a breadth of historical periods and events are covered at the two stages. Although only Western-European countries (England and France) are specified as examples for ‘special study’ (DES 2006b, 7) at the junior level, references to individual countries at the senior level are much more plentiful and varied. This increase includes both references to east European countries and a wider sample of Western-European countries. A reference to ‘Britain’ rather than ‘England’ is also introduced at the senior level, but there is no overt bias in favour of Ireland’s closest neighbour, nor is there a concentrated focus on Northern Europe rather than Southern Europe. ‘Eastern Europe’ as a region is also mentioned in relation to the post-1945 period that reflects the bipolarity of the Cold War period. Coverage of history in Northern Ireland is found in the ‘Later Modern Ireland’ topic rather than the ‘Later Modern Europe and the wider world’ topic, which structures Northern Irish history as part of the national. The use of references to ‘Ulster’ and ‘Belfast’ rather than Northern Ireland further reinforces the inclusion of Northern Ireland in the national as these terms are used with a familiarity akin to references to the Republic of Ireland and indeed allow the nation to penetrate state boundaries as the province of Ulster transcends the British-Irish border. References to Europe are noticeably absent from these constructions. The second most frequently used reference is ‘Europe’ and is much more common in the senior cycle syllabus, employed to introduce the ‘History of Europe’ as topic or to delineate the space of which various historical time periods will be studied. Although the exact borders of this spatial entity remain unclear, the ambiguity of this term enables certain cases and examples to be included as historical interest require. The other reference to ‘Europe’ that appears in the History syllabi is ‘European’ as an adjective, without any 9 specific tendency to refer to common nouns. This varied use complements the undefined nature of ‘Europe’ as an entity and allows a degree of flexibility in what may be perceived by teachers and students. Nevertheless, there is a tendency in both syllabi for ‘Europe’ to be referred to as a single fixed concept that can give rise to undertones that inform a perceived sense of ‘Europeanness’. For example, in the second section of the junior cycle syllabus, the first topic is entitled ‘Changes in European view of the world’ (DES 2006b, 7), which relates to the advent of sea voyages. This angle of study suggests that change within Europe occurred simultaneously across the European entity in a coherent and linear fashion and does not leave space for analysis of alternative views of the world or the debates and competitiveness that emerged within Europe during this time period. Furthermore, the association of the ‘European view of the world’ with discovery and progress confers unquestioned historical legitimacy on the European entity that projects a sense of historically unified Europeaness. Similarly, in the senior cycle, repeated reference to the ‘History of Europe’ in immediate contrast with ‘the wider world’ bolsters the perceived importance of ‘Europe’ relative to other areas. Once again, it appears that ‘Europe’ is used as a connector for Ireland and other parts of the world, but distinctively, references to ‘Europe’ in this syllabus enjoy an elevated status as they are included in topic titles and are listed as key concepts. Religious Education (RE) In RE, the same tendency for more references to occur at the senior level is apparent and once again the increased length of the document undoubtedly plays a factor. In both syllabi, most of the references fall under the ‘Europe’ category. The second most frequent reference to Europe is to individual countries in the senior cycle and then the use of ‘other’ types of references. Occasionally the second most common reference across all subject areas, ‘European’ is used as an adjective in both syllabi. Overall the total number of references to ‘Europe’ in both syllabi is minimal compared to the length of the documents, which suggests that Europe is considered not a relevant concept to this subject area by the NCCA. In both syllabi, references to ‘Europe’ occur in the introduction where the syllabus is explaining the need for ‘a keen awareness of their national and European heritage and identity’ (DES 1999, 3) and ‘an appreciation of the richness of the major religious traditions encountered not just in Ireland, but in Europe and the wider global context’ (DES 2002, 3). This suggests that a specific awareness of the European context is intended within the curriculum. At the junior level the insistence appears to be stronger as the ‘European heritage 10 and identity’ is instilled in and taught to students. The references to Europe are concentrated in the topic called ‘The Situation of Faith Today’ (DES 1999, 27), where the references function as a way to draw parallels between religion in Ireland and Europe in order to distinguish them from the rest of the world. For example, in this topic, students are required to ‘explore religious belief and practice in the locality, in Ireland and throughout Europe’ as well as ‘identify...differences between religion in Europe and religion elsewhere’ (ibid.). At the senior level, the function of references to Europe appears to be more historical, with references to Ancient Greece (DES 2002, 12-13) in the unit entitled ‘The Quest for Meaning’ and to the Greco-Roman world in the section of the syllabus reserved for study of the origins of Christianity (ibid, 25). Other parts of the syllabus approach contemporary topics regarding religion and refer to Europe in a contextual way with relation to the ‘Irish Experience’ (ibid, 85). Indeed, under the topic of ‘Christianity in Ireland’, the syllabus indicates that students should be able to develop an ‘appreciation of the Irish religious heritage and contribution of Irish religion to the development of religion in Europe and elsewhere’ (ibid, 90). The RE syllabi contain the least number of references to Europe of all the social studies subjects included in this study, however the use and purpose of these references differs slightly, particularly in the junior cycle syllabus, where student awareness of European identity was stated at the outset. The implications of the presence of identity undertones in the RE syllabi will be discussed in the following sections that discuss the aggregate findings of all the subjects. Social, Personal, Health Education (SPHE) There is one reference to the ‘wider European and global communities’ (DES 2000, 1) in the SPHE syllabus in the introduction to the document. This reference refers to the overall aim of the Junior Certificate programme (not just this subject) to prepare young people for the civic responsibilities at the national, European and international levels. The use of this reference to Europe reflects the widespread use of the term as the intermediary category between the national and the international throughout the social studies syllabi. Economics There are no references to Europe in the Economics syllabus, which highlights the surprising lack of the economic representation of Europe across the post-primary education social studies syllabi. 11 Representations of Europe This section presents an overview of the different ways in which Europe is represented across the social studies curricula for post-primary education in Ireland. Using the five (spatiallocational, economic, political, historical, social-cultural) potential representations of Europe articulated earlier in the book, the different projections of Europe contained in the eight different syllabi covered can be analysed. In order to ascertain which representations are the most salient, multiple readings of the data were completed to determine the intensity of different representations. Spatial-locational entity References to Europe as a tangible place are most frequent in History and Geography and occasionally in the RE and Politics and Society syllabi. At the junior and senior level, ‘Europe’ is referred to as a place where events took place, without explicit definition of the boundaries of this entity, perhaps due to the fact that the limits of ‘Europe’ changed over time. Regardless, ‘Europe’ consistently features as a place in the History syllabus that transcends time and is also a locality where varied versions of the same political and social processes take place. However, both the Geography and the History syllabi differentiate between Europe and Africa and Asia (DES 2006a, 8) and mention the ‘struggle against the Turks’ (DES 2003, 26) whilst listing the USA as an example of states associated with a revolutionary movement, comparable to France and Ireland (DES 2006, b). Similarly, the Geography syllabi refer to Europe as a spatial-locational entity by highlighting specific physical features of landscapes such as plate-tectonic boundaries near Iceland (DES 2006a, 11) and the polders in the Netherlands (ibid 19). In the History syllabi, allowance is made for a ‘European state/region of choice’ for the international dimension, without specifying what constitutes Europe. However, through contrasts with alternatives such as ‘the Islamic world’ (DES 2006c, 14) and ‘developing world cities’ (DES 2006a, 22), implicit boundaries are projected on Europe as a ‘spatial-locational’ entity. In the RE syllabi, Europe is referred to as an example of a place where religion is practiced, particularly at the senior level, references are made to monasteries and missions ‘in Europe’ (DES 2002, 92). In Politics and Society, students are repeatedly required to apply their knowledge to the ‘European’ context, which suggests that they should be familiar with examples to be found in Europe (NCCA 2008). The spatial-locational representation of Europe is the most common in the social studies curricula because the European dimension of the syllabi stresses student familiarity with cases and examples from ‘Europe’, considered in 12 this ambiguous sense to be a geographical entity that is similar to, but distinct from the nation of Ireland. Economic entity History and Geography are also the two subjects that represent Europe as an economic entity. Although the senior Geography syllabus frames the EU as the face of the economic entity of Europe by including an entire topic devoted to ‘Ireland and the European Union’ (DES 2006c, 26) in the unit about ‘Patterns and Processes in Economic Activities’, the junior syllabus does not mention the EU at all in its corresponding unit ‘Patterns in Economic Activity’ (DES 2006a, 23-27). Similarly, in History, there is no mention of Europe with reference to economics at the junior level; however the senior syllabus specifies study of the ‘EEC’ under the rubric of ‘Government, economy and society in the Republic of Ireland, 1949-1989’ (DES 2003, 39). Aside from this tendency, the syllabi diverge in terms of depicting the quality of Europe as an economic entity. In the History syllabus, the ‘impact of the EEC’ is presented under the aegis of ‘economic change and its social consequences’, together with ‘the impact of the EEC on fisheries’ as a case study (DES 2003, 39). In the Geography syllabus, the scope for presenting the EU is broader as trade features strongly, as well as mention of regional development funds and social funds (DES 2006c, 26). Interestingly, the junior syllabus refers to free movement (DES 2006a, 20), yet refrains from making an explicit reference to the EU and only mentions ‘EC airports’ at this point. As previously mentioned, the Economics syllabus contains no reference to Europe and focuses primarily on Economic theory, rather than examples. This contrasts with the general findings of the other chapters where economic representations of ‘Europe’, particularly as the ‘EU’ are more prominent. Political entity The political representation of Europe occurs in three of the four subjects. At the junior level, the CSPE syllabus only refers to Europe as a political entity, where it is described as a representative body and an international grouping of countries (DES 1996, 18-19). In the senior level Politics and Society syllabus, several references are made to Europe in the introduction with political overtones as it describes the aims and values of the EU institutions and the Council of Europe. Within the curriculum content, the European context is often cited as a case with which students should be familiar and be able to apply their knowledge of 13 political theory and systems. They are also required to learn about the role of the EU in development and in relation to the sustainability of the environment (NCCA 2008, 41). In the Geography syllabus, Europe is represented as a political entity during the senior cycle. As part of the core unit ‘Regional Geography’ students must study the ‘future of the European Union, with particular reference to the issues relating to political union, economic union and sovereignty’ (DES 2006c, 16), thus not only defining Europe as primarily a political body, but implying that integration will intensify in the future. In History, the political representation of Europe is also limited to the senior level syllabus. It is particularly potent in the unit that covers later modern Europe where several topics refer to the political and administrative characteristics of Europe such as state formation (DES 2003, 42) and the ‘move towards European unity’ (ibid, 43). Another interesting adjustment that occurs is the gradual reduction of Europe as the topics reach more contemporary periods. The case of Russia is particularly illustrative on this point because it is referred to earlier in the syllabus as an example of politics and administration in Europe in the period of 1660-1715 (DES 2003, 29), yet in the later units, Russia is cast as opposite to Europe (ibid, 45). Historical entity Europe as a historical entity is most prevalent in the History syllabus where repeated reference is made to past instances in which Europe, not individual countries alone experienced various social, political and cultural processes. The use of Europe as a historical concept is included in the junior cycle syllabus where references to the ‘changes in the European view of the world’ (DES 2006b, 7) indicate that the ‘European’ transcends temporal processes that may otherwise alter society. Similarly, in the senior cycle syllabus, the social, economic, religious and cultural events that constitute the ‘History of Europe’ are presented as the antecedent to the Europe known today. The syllabus includes study of both peace and conflict, but tends to associate Europe with outcomes of progress, for example the ‘humanism and political reform in Western Europe’ between 1492 and 1567 (DES 2003, 26) and the ‘moves towards free trade’ from 1945-1992 (ibid 45). In both syllabi, there is use of the phrase ‘move towards European unity’ in the units for history of the twentieth century (DES 1999 8; 2003, 45). In this sense, the idea of a common political Europe is imbued with the gravity of history as it is presented in a linear, teleological fashion. Aside from the History, there is little representation of Europe as a historical entity, except in the junior RE syllabus, where it refers to ‘European heritage’ (DES 1999, 3), which suggests that there is a religious characteristic of Europe that is passed on through 14 generations. This depiction of Europe as a continuous historical entity is reiterated when students are expected to ‘explore religious belief...throughout Europe at present and over the last century’ (ibid 27). The senior cycle syllabus also refers to Europe as a historical entity when it requires students to study the ‘European pattern of religious belief’, indicating that changes occurred while Europe remained intact (DES 2002, 87). Similarly, reference is made to ‘Christianity in Europe at the time of Patrick’ which emphasises the historicity of the European entity. Social-cultural entity The projection of Europe as a social-cultural entity occurs across all of the subjects in the post-primary social studies education. Europe is represented as an entity with shared norms that foster a sense of common culture. In the RE syllabi, this representation is particularly strong as religion in Europe is pitched as singular, for example ‘the religion of Europe’ (DES 2002, 35) in comparison to the diversity of the wider world context (DES 1999, 27) as students are expected to gain an awareness of their common ‘European heritage and identity’ in the junior cycle (ibid 3). Similarly, at the senior level, students study ‘the European pattern of religious belief’, that again suggests that changes in religious practice followed a single trajectory in Europe, although there is scope to discuss difference. By attributing religion to the cultural content of Europe, in syllabi that cover Christianity as the main religion, the RE syllabi imply that Europe as a social-cultural entity has Christian characteristics that form part of the European identity. In the CSPE and Politics and Society syllabi, certain political values such as human rights and democracy are presented as part of European and also ‘Western’ culture (NCCA 2008, 39). Both curricula present human rights as an ‘ideal’; in the junior curriculum students are expected to develop their ‘critical and moral faculties in agreement with a system of values based on human rights’ (DES 1996, 7). In the section of the senior cycle syllabus dealing with ‘Diversity in contemporary societies’, students are directed to learn about ‘human rights as a benchmark in relation to cultural and political differences’ (NCCA 2008, 39). Coupled with the repeated association of Europe with human rights, for example through reference to the European Convention on Human Rights (ibid, 28), Europe is represented with a normative political culture. Once again, although there is scope to discuss diversity and variation, the projection of an ideal, approved value system limits the validity of alternatives that may arise in the perceived, enacted or experienced curricula. 15 In the History syllabi, the representation of Europe as a social-cultural entity occurs only in the senior cycle where a ‘culture, religion and science’ perspective is offered for each topic (DES 2003). Nevertheless, there are few explicit connections made between these features and ‘Europe’ as a cohesive entity, as historical movements are generally ascribed to individual countries in this section of the syllabus. However it is of note that consistently referring to ‘Europe’ in the title of topics under which cultural, religious and scientific progress are studied leads to an indirect representation of Europe as a social cultural entity. Indeed the case studies for this part of the syllabus are all drawn from Europe, except for the last topic that covers the ‘United States and the world’ (ibid 47). Similarly, in the Geography syllabi, the representation of Europe as a social-cultural entity only occurs at the senior level in the core unit of ‘Regional Geography’ where students study ‘cultural regions... associated with language (and) religion’ and examples in Europe can be studied in contrast with ‘the Islamic world’ (DES 2006c, 14). This juxtaposition suggests that Europe is one example of a group of regions with common religion in contrast to the ‘Islamic world’, although there is room to discuss linguistic variation here and later students study two topics entitled ‘the complexity of regions’ (ibid 16). The optional unit of ‘Culture and Identity’ also offers a social-cultural representation of Europe as students study ‘racial groupings within the global population’ using ‘appropriate European and global examples’. In the same topic, students also study ‘everyday expressions of culture and identity, e.g. sports, traditions, costume, food, music, art and festivals’, again using ‘appropriate European examples’ (ibid, 40). The introduction of a racial element to the social-cultural representation of Europe is problematic as it conflates (vaguely and dubiously defined) biological and emotional characteristics, giving rise to the illusory notion of what is imagined to be a ‘naturally’ bounded community. Although the topic also includes study of ‘multi-racial societies and racial mixing’, there is potential for the representation of Europe as a socialcultural entity to develop a racial undertone. Europe is most frequently presented as a spatial-locational entity in the post-primary social studies syllabi in Ireland and serves as a reference point for examples and case studies for the lessons in each subject. Although other representations of the European entity appear in the subjects that traditionally and overtly focus on certain aspects of society, the presence of the social-cultural representation across all subjects, indicates that there are common themes with which Europe is associated. The link between Europe as a consistent spatiallocational entity and a coherent social-cultural entity projects a sense of ‘Europeanness’ that 16 is both tangible and abstractedly confirmed. The implications of the salience of these two representations will be discussed in the next section. Constructions of European identity and citizenship As previously stated, the discourse analysis of the syllabi aimed to establish how notions of European ‘identity’ and ‘citizenship’ are established in the diversified classroom of twentyfirst century Ireland where multiple cultural affinities exist that contribute to the reconfiguration of traditional notions of ‘identity’ and ‘citizenship’ (O’Connor and Faas forthcoming). Discourse analysis was also used to evaluate the accuracy and resonance of the constructions of identity and citizenship in the contemporary context. The few direct references to European identity and citizenship found in the sampled documents clearly set the parameters within which European identity and citizenship are constructed and an overall European narrative is established. The contemporary incongruence between the legal-political concept of citizenship and the social-cultural identities shared by people has been highlighted by several academics from different disciplines (for example Soysal 1994; Habermas 1999; Benhabib 2004). This sense of belonging based on a legal entitlement and a psychological attachment (Guibernau 2007) to a fixed nation-state, recognized as a cultural and territorial entity has resulted in a shift towards post-national education in the last twenty five years (Keating et al. 2009). Guibernau (2007) differentiates between national identity which she sees as an emotional attachment with a psychological element whereas citizenship is legal and political belonging. She emphasizes that psychological function of national identity cannot be underestimated as a means to offset negative aspects of modernity such as isolation and uncertainty. Post-national education is considered to be more conducive to global cohesion as it removes imagined national barriers (Phillipou et al. 2009) and allows greater space for the reinterpretation of channels of belonging through democratic iterations (Soysal 1994). In Ireland, the move to post-national education has resulted in an increase in the European dimension of curricula (Keating 2009). Although there are only two explicit references made to ‘European (heritage and) identity’ (DES 1999, 3) and ‘European citizenship’ (NCCA, 2008, 3) among all the syllabi studied, these two references (and in relation to the contents ascribed to the five kinds of representations of Europe discussed earlier in this chapter) indicate the space in which a sense of belonging to Europe is fostered across all subjects. First of all, the reference to identity in the RE syllabus imbues the sense of European identity with religious undertones and a decisive commonality that reinforces a 17 sense of cultural and indeed inherited boundedness. Secondly, the reference to citizenship in the newly compiled Politics and Society syllabus is constructed with repeated reference to the EU and EU education policy directives which confirms to teachers that European citizenship is the legal-political belonging of individuals who are citizens of EU countries only. Thus, the boundaries of European citizenship can be territorially concretized using spatial-locational references and the limits of European identity can be established by using social-cultural representations of Europe. The concentration of a European narrative in the spatial-locational and social-cultural representations of Europe creates an additional dimension to the social studies programme whereby the European sits beyond the national as an intermediary between the proximate and the distant. In terms of the construction of European citizenship and a European identity, the consistent use of a tri-partite structure in all subjects positions Europe as a platform between Ireland and the rest of the world. For example, the ‘EU’ is pitched as the stepping stone between the Irish government and the United Nations in the CSPE and Politics and Society syllabi. Similarly, a tripartite system is used for social-cultural representations, with Europe featured as the middle context between Ireland and the international context. This structure adds hierarchical undertones to the study of each level as students study material with which they are already familiar, which exacerbates existing levels of ignorance and unfamiliarity with non-national and non-European contexts. Thus, constructions of citizenship and identity with a ‘European’ brand become part of the province of the familiar and (officially) recognized ‘known’ (Sarup 2003). Consequently, the ‘European’ brand can serve as an entry card for inclusion for those students who identify with Europe, even if they do not have a legal-political or social-cultural connection to the ‘national’ because it is accepted and understood and does not represent an unfamiliar threat. Presented as an extension of Irish citizenship and identity, Europe is considered part of the ‘in group’ and sits on the ‘familiar’ side of the binary oppositions (Maclure 2003) employed in all of the subjects, that contrast EU citizenship with ‘African and Asian nationalism’ in History (DES 2006b, 8) and European identity with ‘the Islamic world’ in Geography (DES 2006c, 14) and Christianity and Judaism with ‘world religions’, namely ‘Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism’ (DES 2003, 36). Although expanding the national in this way is more inclusive than a unique nation-state approach, the addition of the European dimension simply repositions the divisions and creates new exclusions. Indeed the European narrative is constructed so that EU citizenship and European identity are associated with normatively approved values such as democracy, human rights and a free-market economy 18 that are portrayed as triumphant in all subjects. Consequently, students who may have hybrid identities or dual citizenship may find themselves torn between acceptance and exclusion. Similarly, students who are citizens of non-EU migrant origin and have a stronger affiliation with legal-political constructions of citizenship rather than social-cultural identities that are framed as part of the ‘Other’ will feel excluded. In spite of positioning Europe as an extension of the national and the promotion of the greatness of European values, the syllabi do not create an illusion of homogeneity between the spatial-locational and social-cultural representation of Europe. In this way, there is space for incongruence between EU citizenship and European identity in the post-primary social studies programme. For example, the social-cultural representation extends beyond the territorial boundaries of the EU and includes references to the Balkans and Switzerland in the senior cycle Geography syllabus in the ‘Culture and Identity’ topic (DES 2006c 41). This heterogeneity is consistent with the description of the European Union as ‘democratic and outward-looking’ (NCAA, 2008, 10), which allows scope for students to understand the flexibility of identities and the contemporary decoupling of citizenship and identity. Constructing European citizenship and identity in an inclusive way with porous boundaries is amenable to maximum participation as the social-cultural representation of Europe can be conceptually stretched by students who may not necessarily have a legal-political tie to Europe. In addition to the malleable quality of the social-cultural representation of Europe, many of the syllabi contain discursive mechanisms that allow for discussion of material and thus a process of democratic iterations that allows for identities to be negotiated, transformed and established by and for the present cohort of students (Benhabib 2004). Given that statesponsored official curricula tend to exclude alternative experiences (Guibernau 2007), the opportunity to equate personal experience with collective belonging (Eriksen 2001) boosts the accuracy and legitimacy of the representations of Europe in the social studies syllabi in Ireland. For example, the Politics and Society syllabus requires students to debate the works of authors who challenge prevailing hegemonic discourse such as Kate Millet (NCCA 2008, 34) and Edward Said (ibid 39). Thus, the syllabi offers space in which current concepts of belonging can be criticised challenged and adjusted by empowered students that can rectify any systematic bias from the grassroots level. The constructions of European citizenship and identity in the post-primary social studies syllabi in Ireland do not systematically exclude non-European students from participating. The constructions relating to Europe are complementary to expressions of 19 ‘Irishness’. Although there are traces of bias that reinforce the positive aspects of Europeanness and a strong tendency to prioritise the European experience above examples from the rest of the world, the programme also provides ample opportunity for debate and discussion of the values espoused in all subjects. Together with the absence of conflation of European citizenship and identity, there is no intentional bias against non-European students. Discussion This study aimed to identify the presence of ‘Europe’ in social studies subjects in secondary curricula in Ireland; to establish how ‘Europe’ is represented across these curricula; and to explore whether, and, if so, how, social studies curricula are being used to foster a sense of European citizenship and identity. Analysis showed that Europe is largely used as an amplifier for national political agendas regarding education as it enables ‘Ireland’ to be cast in a positive light, either through a contrast with a negative portrayal of Europe or through strong association with Europe when it is portrayed positively. Thus, Europe is a mechanism for boosting the perception of the national and for depicting the scale of Ireland’s influence in the wider world. References to ‘Europe’ appeared in all subjects in the social studies programme; however the coverage and consistency of meaning varied between subjects and the two cycles of post-primary education. Nevertheless, the references to Europe projected two primary representations of Europe as a spatial-locational entity and as a social-cultural entity. Although there were some common elements between these representations, in particular the undertones of Europe as the site of progress and as a public space that produces innovative developments, the two representations were not perpetually congruent. Thus, European identity and citizenship is constructed in a way that allows for flexibility and fluidity in the application of the syllabi to classroom contexts. The findings in this study confirm the arguments made in past research that the curricula in Ireland is undergoing a process of ‘Europeanisation’ (Keating 2009) and that the intercultural approach to education in Ireland (NCCA 2006; DES 2010), which emphasises communication and discussion, facilitates a reduction of the exclusionary elements often found in social studies curricula. Indeed, the analysis of the draft ‘Politics and Society’ syllabus that includes the study of perspectives that criticise hegemonic aspects of society indicates an astute self-perception held by the Irish state, given the willingness to increase flexibility of the nation-state boundaries by recognizing diversity (Soysal and Schissler 20 2005). The use of Europe in the increasingly fluid constructions of identity and citizenship lends legitimacy to the extension of the imagined community beyond the national boundaries. Beyond the standard limitations that apply to this methodological approach, one contextual limitation relates to the structure of Irish secondary education that allows for a ‘Transition year’ in which a non-standardised, non-academic programme of study can be followed. Given the potential for such varied ‘experienced curriculum’ (Goodlad 1977), it is extremely difficult to gauge the resonance of official curricula on a cohort of students that have lived an infinite number of experiences that may pre-condition their receptiveness to projections of European citizenship and identity. Overall, this study indicates that the ambiguity of concepts of ‘Europe’ can be employed as an inclusive pedagogical tool as they enlarge the pool of participative students that have a stake in the classroom discourse. Combined with intercultural mechanisms that encourage debate and discussion, the presence of ‘Europe’ in social studies curriculum can minimise the marginalisation of students that do not share the traditional national identity nor hold any political-legal rights in the nation-state where they reside. 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